Dampener for printing presses



Oct. 8, 1963 A. A. SAUL DAMPENER FOR PRINTING PRESSES Original FiledJuly 12, 1960 INVENTOR g August A.

3,106,154 DAMPENER FOR PRINTING PRESSES August A. Saul, Sarasota, Fla,assignor to Miller Printing Machinery Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Continuation of application Ser. No. 42,291,July 12,

1960. This application Jan. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 250,139

3 Claims. (Cl. 101-148) This invention relates to a dampener forprinting presses which accomplishes superior results. in control ofdelivery of dampening fluid to a printing form while at the same timebeing of extremely simple construction, inexpensive to manufacture andeasy to service and maintain in repair. This application is acontinuation of my copending application Serial No. 42,291, filed July12, 1960, now abandoned.

The art of dampeners for printing presses is well developed. Dampeningfluid, normally water with or without additive-s, is applied to a form,as, for example, to a plate cylinder in a lithographic offset printingpress, for reasons well understood by those skilled in the art and whichtherefore need not be dealt with here. heretofore been the practice todeliver the dampening fluid through a ductor roller, the ductor rollergenerally moving between and alternately touching a transfer roller andan applicator or form roller. In such dampeners the ends of the formrollers tend to dry out with attendant nonuniform application ofdampening fluid. Attempts have been made to eliminate the use of theductor roller and acceptable results have been obtained with a dampenerwhich is of relatively intricate design, costly to manufacture anddiflicult to maintain and service.

I have discovered that exceptionally reliable and uniform dampening canbe accomplished by the employment of a metering roller in novelrelationship to the cooperating elements of the dampener withoututilizing a ductor roller and without resorting to the intricate andcostly mechanisms heretofore proposed.

I provide a dampener for a printing press comprising a plurality ofrollers in series contact with one another and which remain continuouslyand uninterruptedly in such contact and means for continuously anduninternuptedly rotating all of the roller-s, a first one of suchrollers serving as a source of dampening fluid, a second one of suchrollers being a metering roller having a dampening fluid carryingsurface in contact with the first roller, said plurality of rollerscomprising roller means in contact with the second roller and with theform of the press including an intermediate roller and a dampening fluidform roller for applying dampening fluid to the form of the press, theintermediate roller being disposed at a somewhat lower elevation thanthe first roller, the second roller being supported against gravitysolely in the saddle formed by the first roller and the intermediateroller, the intermediate roller by reason of its elevation somewhatlower than that of the first roller tending to rotate the second rollerat the speed of the intermediate roller, the means for rotating thefirst roller being independent of the means for rotating the otherrollers and comprising adjustable means for rotating the first roller atvariable speed less than the speed of the other rollers, the firstroller and the second roller rotating so that the surface portionsthereof in contact with each other move in the same direction, therelative speeds of the first roller and the second roller determiningthe quantity of dampening fluid taken by the second roller from thefirst roller and delivered to the intermediate roller and thence to theform. Such roller means preferably comprise a third roller which is adistributor roller in contact with the second roller and which is theintermediate roller above mentioned and a It has States tent fourthroller which is the dampening fluid form roller above mentioned. Thedistributor roller is preferably a vibrating roller. The first roller isnormally a dampening fluid fountain roller which receives dampeningfluid from a fountain in conventional manner. The dampenig fluidcarrying surface of the metering roller may be provided-in various ways;I prefer to dispose a fabric sleeve over the metering roller. I havefound that a knitted cotton fabric sleeve treated to render the sleevereceptive to the dampening fluid and of a type heretofore used on theform roll-ens of dampeners for printing presses serves my purposeexcellently.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the following description of a present preferred embodimentthereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated diagrammatically apresent preferred embodiment of the invention in which FIGURE 1 is aroller diagram showing the relationship to one another and to the platecylinder of the rollers of a dampener for a lithographic ofise-tprinting press in accordance with my invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of an independent variable speeddrive for the roller serving as a source of dampening fluid which isshown in FIG- URE 1 as a dampening fluid fountain roller.

Referring to the drawings, the dampening fluid fountain is designated 2.It contains dampening fluid .3 which may be water with or withoutadditives as well known to those skilled in the art. A roller 4 servingas a source of dampening fluid for the dampener dips into the dampeningfluid 3 as shown and is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrowA. The roller 4 is the dampening fluid fountain roller. It is driven inconventional manner at relatively low speed by a drive independent ofthe drive for other rollers of the dampener. and which is controllableso that the speed at which the roller 4 is driven may be increased ordecreased as may be desired. FIGURE 2 shows diagrammatically anindependent variable speed drive for roller 4; such roller is driventhrough a worm 11 by a driving unit 12 having means 13 for controllingat will the speed of. the roller (the unit shown is of the type soldcommercially under the name Zero-Max but various other variable speeddrives may be employed). The roller 4- is preferably a smooth surfacedmetal roller such as a steel roller with a smoothly ground surface.

A plate cylinder is shown at 5 having on its surface a printing plate 6.The plate cylinder is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow Band may be conventional as to structure and drive. A dampening fluidform roller is shown at 7 which rotates consonantly with the platecylinder 5 in the direction indicated by the arrow C. The form roller 7may be of conventional construction as well known to those skilled inthe art and having a surface adapted to receive dampening fluid from thefountain roller 4 transferred thereto by intermediate rollers presentlyto be described and to apply such dampening fluid to the plate 6.

A distributor roller is shown at 8 which is driven to rotate in thedirection indicated by the arrow D. The distributor roller 8 ispreferably a vibrator roller vibrating endwise relatively to the formroller C and to the metering roller to be described. The distributorroller may be of the same construction as the fountain roller 4, thatis, it may be a smooth surfaced metal roller such as a steel roller witha smoothly ground surface. The rollers 7 and 8 are driven together withthe cylinder 5 at synchronized speed so that they turn with uniformsurface velocity to transfer dampening fluid from the roller 8 to theroller 7 and thenceto the plate 6 without relative slippage between thefluid transfer surfaces. The drive for the cylinder and the rollers '7and 3 may be conventional, such, for example, as that of United StatesPatent No. 1,029,239. The rollers 7 and 8 and the cylinder 5 .arerotated at a surface speed substantially higher than that of thefountain roller 4.

A saddle is formed between the fountain roller 4 and the distributorroller 8. The distributor roller 3 is disposed at a somewhat lowerelevation than the fountain roller 4 for a purpose to be presentlydescribed.

My metering roller is designated 9 and is in continuous contact with thefountain roller 4 and the distributor roller 8. The metering roller 9turns in the direction indicated by the arrow E. It turns at a speedgreater than the speed of the fountain roller 4. The metering roller 9may be a metal roller provided with a sleeve which may be a knittedcotton sleeve treated to render it receptive to dampening fluid. Thesleeve may be of a construction known to those skilled in the art andwhich has heretofore been utilized on the dampening fluid form rollersof printing presses.

referably the metering roller 9 is simply cradled in the saddle formedby the fountain roller 4 and the distributor roller 8 and has no othermounting and is rotated by surface contact. Abutment means may beprovided at the ends of the metering roller 9 to prevent it fromtravelling endwise under influence of the distributor roller 8 if thedistributor roller 8 is a vibrator roller.

Since the distributor roller 8 is disposed at a somewhat lower elevationthan the fountain roller 4 the metering roller 9 bears more directlyupon the distributor roller 8 than upon the fountain roller 4 so thatthe tendency is for the metering roller 9 to rotate at the speed of thedistributor roller 8 rather than at the slower'speed of the fountainroller 4. Thus the metering roller 9 takes dampening fluid from thefountain roller 4 and delivers it to the distributor roller 8 asindicated in the drawing. The quantity of dampening fluid thus deliveredby the metering roller 9 is determined by the relative speeds of thefountain roller 4 and the metering roller 9. Since the speed at whichthe cylinder 5 and the rollers 7 and 8 are driven is normally dictatedby press operating conditions the control of the relative speeds of thefountain roller 4 and the etering roller 9 is normally controlled byspeeding up or slowing downthe fountain roller, it being borne in mindthat due to the arrangement of the rollers with the distributor roller 8at a somewhat lower elevation than the fountain roller 4 the meteringroller 9 tends through its more intimate contact due to gravity, withthedistributor roller 8 to rotate at the speed of the distributor roller 8,which speed is higher than that of the fountain roller 4 so that themetering roller 9 wipes dampening fluid oif of the fountain roller 4 anddelivers it through the distributor roller 8 and the form roller 7 tothe form 6. The quantity of dampening fluid thus delivered may beaccurately controlled. If it is desired to reduce the quantity ofdampening fluid being applied to the plate 6 the speed of the fountainroller 4 may be somewhat slowed down. If a somewhat greater quantity ofdampening fluid is to be delivered the speed of the fountain roller willbe somewhat increased.

Thus in a very simple manner I provide for accurate and reliable controlof the delivery of dampening fluid to a form Without the use of a ductorroller and without resorting to the complex and expensive structuresheretofore proposed for accomplishing the result without the use of aductor roller.

While I have illustrated and described a present preferred embodiment ofthe invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention isnot limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A dampener for a printing press comprising a plurality of rollers inseries contact with one another and which remain continuously anduninterruptedly in such contact and means for continuously anduninterruptedly rotating all of the rollers, a first one of such rollersserving as a source of dampening fluid, a second one of such rollersbeing a metering roller having a dampening fluid carrying surface incontact with the first roller, said plurality of rollers comprisingroller means in contact with the second roller and with the form of thepress including an intermediate roller and a dampening fluid form rollerfor applying dampening fluid to the form of the press, the intermediateroller being disposed at a somewhat lower elevation than the firstroller, the second roller being supported against gravity solely in thesaddle formed by the firstroller and the intermediate roller, theintermediate roller by reason of its elevation somewhat lower than thatof the first roller tending to rotate the second roller at the speed ofthe intermediate roller, the means for rotating the first roller beingindependent of the means for rotating the other rollers and comprisingadjustable means for rotating the first roller atvariable speed lessthan the speed of the other rollers, the first roller and the secondroller rotating so that the surface portions thereof in contact witheach other move in the same direction, the relative speeds of the firstroller and the second roller determining the quantity of dampening fluidtaken by the second roller from the first roller and delivered to theintermediate roller and thence to the form.

. 2. A dampener for a printing press comprising a plurality of rollersin series contact with one another and which remain continuously anduninterruptedly in such contact and means for continuously anduninterruptedly rotating all of the rollers, a first one of such rollersserving as a source of dampening fluid, a second one of such rollersbeing a metering roller having a dampening fluid carrying surface incontact with the first roller, a third one of such rollers being adistributor roller in contact with the second roller and a fourth one ofsuch rollers being a dampening fluid form roller for applying dampeningfluid to the form of the press, the third roller being disposed at asomewhat lower elevation than the first roller, the second roller beingsupported against gravity solely in the saddle formed by the first andthird rollers, the third roller by reason of its elevation somewhatlower than that of the first roller tending to rotate the second rollerat the speed of the third roller, the means for rotating the firstroller being independent of the means for rotating the other rollers andcomprising adjustable means for rotating the first roller at variablespeed less than the speed of the other rollers, the first roller and thesecond roller rotating so that the surface portions thereof in contactwith each other move in the same direction, the relative speeds of thefirst roller and the second roller deterv mining the quantity ofdampening fluid taken by the second roller from the first roller anddelivered to the third roller and thence to the fourth roller and to theform.

3. A dampener for a printing press comprising a plurality of rollers inseries contact with one another and which remain continuously anduninterruptedly in such contact and means for continuously anduninterruptedly rotating all of the rollers, a first one of such rollersbeing a dampening fluid fountain roller, a second one of such rollersbeing a metering roller having a dampening fluid carrying surface incontact with the first roller, said plurality of rollers comprisingroller means in contact with the second roller and with the form of thepress including an intermediate roller and a dampening fluid form rollerfor applying dampening fluid to the form of the press, the intermediateroller being disposed at a somewhat lower elevation than the firstroller, the second roller being supported against gravity solely in thesaddle formed by the first roller and the intermediate roller, theintermediate roller by reason of its elevation somewhat lower than thatof the first roller tending to rotate the second roller at the speed ofthe intermediate roller, the means for rotating the first roller beingindependent of the means for rotating the other rollers and comprisingadjustable means for rotating the first roller at variab le speed lessthan the speed of the other rollers, the first roller and the secondroller rotating so that the surface portions thereof in contact witheach other move in the same direction, the relative speeds of the firstroller and the second roller determining the quantity of dampening fluidtaken by the second roller from the first roller and delivered to theintermediate roller and thence to the form.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS AlgerNov. 4, 1930 Wittnebel Dec. 10, 1940 Brodie Jan. 28, 1958 Dietrich Mar.27, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Aug. 6, 1935 Great Britain Jan.19, 1937

1. A DAMPENER FOR A PRINTING PRESS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF ROLLERS IN SERIES CONTACT WITH ONE ANOTHER AND WHICH REMAIN CONTINUOUSLY AND UNINTERRUPTEDLY IN SUCH CONTACT AND MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY AND UNINTERRUPTEDLY ROTATING ALL OF THE ROLLERS, A FIRST ONE OF SUCH ROLLERS SERVING AS A SOURCE OF DAMPENING FLUID, A SECOND ONE OF SUCH ROLLERS BEING A METERING ROLLER HAVING A DAMPENING FLUID CARRYING SURFACE IN CONTACT WITH THE FIRST ROLLER, SAID PLURALITY OF ROLLERS COMPRISING ROLLER MEANS IN CONTACT WITH THE SECOND ROLLER AND WITH THE FORM OF THE PRESS INCLUDING AN INTERMEDIATE ROLLER AND A DAMPENING FLUID FORM ROLLER FOR APPLYING DAMPENING FLUID TO THE FORM OF THE PRESS, THE INTERMEDIATE ROLLER BEING DISPOSED AT A SOMEWHAT LOWER ELEVATION THAN THE FIRST ROLLER, THE SECOND ROLLER BEING SUPPORTED AGAINST GRAVITY SOLELY IN THE SADDLE FORMED BY THE FIRST ROLLER AND THE INTERMEDIATE ROLLER, THE INTERMEDIATE ROLLER BY REASON OF ITS ELDVATION SOMEWHAT LOWER THAN THAT OF THE FIRST ROLLER TENDING TO ROTATE THE SECOND ROLLER AT THE SPEED OF THE INTERMEDIATE ROLLER, THE MEANS FOR ROTATING THE FIRST ROLLER BEING INDEPENDENT OF THE MEANS FOR ROTATING THE OTHER ROLLERS AND COMPRISING ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR ROTATING THE FIRST ROLLER AT VARIABLE SPEED LESS THAN THE SPEED OF THE OTHER ROLLERS, THE FIRST ROLLER AND THE SECOND ROLLER ROTATING SO THAT THE SURFACE PORTIONS THEREOF IN CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER MOVE IN THE SAME DIRECTION, THE RELATIVE SPEEDS OF THE FIRST ROLLER AND THE SECOND ROLLER DETERMINING THE QUANTITY OF DAMPENING FLUID TAKEN BY THE SECOND ROLLER FROM THE FIRST ROLLER AND DELIVERED TO THE INTERMEDIATE ROLLER AND THENCE TO THE FORM. 